Artificial Intelligence and the Law

This course will explore how various areas of the law are responding to, and helping to shape, the development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The course will cover both existing legal approaches and debates over future directions the law should take. Readings will include a range of theory and scholarship in addition to case law. Each time the course is offered, it will focus on a few specific themes. The inaugural Spring 2027 edition will focus on the themes of privacy, safety, and democracy. In the privacy unit, we will examine how statutory, constitutional, and common law privacy doctrines are grappling with the rise of both generative AI and AI-powered surveillance technologies. The safety unit will consider how well suited existing legal frameworks like consumer protection and tort law are for guarding against the risks that flow from AI technologies and for providing redress when such harms materialize. Finally, in our democracy unit, we will discuss how democratic values such as freedom of expression, transparency, and equality might shape our choices about the government's own uses of AI technologies, including algorithmic decision-making tools. Note: no background in technology or AI necessary. For this reason, the course will begin with an introductory unit on some of the key concepts in the field. Assessment: 75% Final Exam, 25% In-Class Presentation.